The opposition Mizo National Front has served a legal notice to the Evening Post, a vernacular daily here, for ‘’implicating’’ three of its ministers in the mysterious death of Reverend Chanchinmawia.
The legal notice, served through the party’s advocate KV Tlangmawia, was received by the paper yesterday.
It demanded apology within 30 days for publishing the ‘’baseless’’ news report or face the consequences, party sources today said.
Quoting sources, the Evening Post, in its January 5, 2009 issue, reported that the CBI investigation into the controversial death of the Presbyterian pastor was nearing completion and it turned out be a case of homicide. This was contrary to the verdict of the state police that it was a suicide.
The report further stated that three ministers had been allegedly involved and at least Rs 770 lakh, mainly from the fund of the rural development department, had been allegedly spent in the plot. ‘’The MNF’s involvement is implied in this regard, though it is not mentioned which ministry the ministers belonged to. The death took place on October 1, 2007, when the party was in power,’’ sources said.
The opposition parties accused the MNF of murdering the pastor as he was the president of the Synod-sponsored Mizoram Peoples Forum (MPF), which was a bane of the then ruling party.
The legal notice had been preceded by an envoy of the MNF president asking the paper to disclose its sources, but the paper refused to comply.
‘’Such baseless news report can tarnish the party’s image. We are compelled to take legal action against the newspaper,’’ a MNF spokesperson said.
In August last, the then MNF government accorded consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe into the sensational death of Reverend Chanchinmawia.
A nod for the CBI investigation came after a widespread doubt surfaced following the state’s Special Investigation Team (SIT)s conclusion that the death was a case of suicide.
Before this, opposition parties and pressure groups like Peoples Right to Information and Development of Mizoram (Prism) had been continuously demanding a CBI probe into his death. Moreover, the Presbyterian Church Synod, which agreed to accord him a pastoral funeral in the church, maintained that his death was not a suicide.